Chapter 304: The Fire in Chang’an (6)

Seol Ganom, who took the list, naturally brought up another topic.

“Ah. By the way. About Guryeong. Hmm. Seol Iri really doesn’t roll off the tongue.”

“Do you two know each other? And what’s with Guryeong? The kid’s not quite right, but no matter what, calling a woman Guryeong, really?”

At this, Seol Ganom smiled bitterly.

“Well, I suppose it’s not much different from other clans. No, rather than clans, it’s a characteristic of clan villages. Northern Sea surnames also have main families and direct lines, and branch families and collateral lines like other clans. In terms of treatment, the main family lives like royalty, while the collateral lines live like ordinary people.”

“And?”

“And below that, the mixed breeds, or bastards in Central Plains terms, live like slaves or animals. Anyone can freely use them, and beat them when bored. But there’s a hefty price for killing them.”

Qing frowned deeply.

“Huh? What’s that about? Wasn’t slavery banned by law ages ago?”

“So there are no slaves in the Central Plains? Don’t most well-off households keep one or two?”

“The law is a joke, that’s why. Anyway, they’re real bastards, just lucky to be born with good bloodlines, talking about direct and collateral lines.”

It was very treasonous talk.

But when Qing says it, it’s not treason, but it’s also nonsensical coming from the legitimate imperial princess.

However, Seol Ganom, who didn’t know she was a princess, shrugged his shoulders.

“Well. I thought about how it ended up like this, and I sort of understand. It’s a kind of resource management, isn’t it?”

The Northern Sea is barren.

It’s not like they have many products either.

There’s good quality fur, but not enough even for Northern Sea people to use.

Of course, there’s one season when it’s available.

But no sect would carelessly release strategic resources just because they’re hungry.

Just looking at rural Central Plains, clan villages with iron veins dominate surrounding villages, so they absolutely won’t sell iron no matter what.

Moreover, there are few merchants who come to trade all the way to the Northern Sea, and even then they can’t come in summer when the ice is thin or in winter when it’s too cold.

They only come briefly in spring and fall, so the grain brought from outside is just a pittance.

The Northern Sea land can’t support a large population to begin with.

So births are also strictly controlled based on bloodlines, but in a cold land with nothing to do, what else is there to do?

If you just diligently have sex, despite controls, a child suddenly gets pregnant, and a mixed breed is born.

“So mixed breeds can be freely used.”

Even unnecessary mixed breeds need to be clothed and fed.

Since they use up the Northern Sea’s scarce resources, they should at least work like livestock.

In return, aren’t they fed, clothed and sheltered?

Qing thought as she listened to Seol Ganom’s hypothesis.

As expected of the neighborhood’s top intellect!

When he was in the Northern Sea, he must have undoubtedly been the Northern Sea’s top intellect.

“But you need to know who’s a mixed breed to use them, so they give them names that are clearly mixed breed from the start.”

They don’t even put much effort into naming them.

They just recycle a few male names and female names.

For the three Northern Sea surnames Seol, Han, and Bing, male names are Ganom, Jongnom, Gaenom, Jotnom.

Female names are Ganyeon, Jongyeon, Gaenyeon, Guryeong.

“Ah.”

“You asked if we know each other? There’s a sect called the Jade Maiden Palace in the north of the Northern Sea. It’s a sect mostly composed of women. Not that it’s strictly women only, but men really dislike it due to the nature of the martial arts. Anyway, there was such a sect called the Jade Maiden Palace.”

And then Seol Ganom smiled slyly.

It was a smile full of pride, like a cook who overheard praise that the food was fucking delicious while passing by.

“Of course, it no longer exists.”

Didn’t he say he killed everyone above and below, burned down the sect, and ran off with the secret manuals?

He said before that while he thinks he went a bit too far, he doesn’t regret it, and if he went back in time he’d do exactly the same.

“Guryeong was lucky. She was born with blood close to Bing Jeong. So she went to the Ice Palace last, and was incorporated into the Ice Palace’s direct line, so she must have received a new name.”

“Then, you knew each other before?”

“In Central Plains terms, we’d be uncle and niece. But mixed breeds don’t have family registers, so if you say such things out loud you get beaten.”

Apparently Seol Iri actually got beaten repeatedly for calling him uncle.

But the kid is so stubbornly pig-headed that she wouldn’t stop calling him uncle even while getting beaten, so her endurance just kept increasing.

Hmm. I see where that stubbornness comes from.

Qing nodded, then suddenly:

“What? So you’re saying you sent your niece alone all the way to this distant land to find and kill her uncle and bring back secret manuals?”

“That’s the pretext, but I just kicked her out. Guryeong knows that too.”

“Huh? She knows this too? What, did you two talk? No, did she recognize you from the start?”

“Well. I look like this, don’t I?”

The reason there are men in the Jade Maiden Palace despite it being called Jade Maiden Palace is because the side effects of the Tai Yin Jade Maiden Divine Art cultivate men to be like women.

Seol Ganom overcame those side effects with the Heavenly Ice Sura Demonic Arts, but lost his senses instead.

But when he actually lived like that, he found that life as a woman was hundreds of times better than a life without senses, so he purified the Heavenly Ice Sura Demonic Arts through the Blissful Maiden Arts and returned to his previous appearance.

In other words, when Seol Ganom lived as a slave in the Jade Maiden Palace, he had his current appearance.

“I hear she was only taught the Ice White Divine Palm, but not actually given the important Ice White Divine Art.”

Yet she scattered the Tai Yin Jade Maiden Divine Art, saying she needed to learn the divine art.

So she was left with just the Cold Resistance Arts, a pathetic inner force cultivation technique true to its name that can’t even make ice, leaving her inner force not even first-rate.

“The Ice White Divine Palm is of course a peerless divine skill, but how could it display proper power with my lousy studies? If you tell such a kid to catch a Demonic Adept who destroyed a whole sect, she’d immediately know she was kicked out.”

However, he doesn’t know exactly why she was kicked out because she keeps her mouth shut about it.

Either the Ice Palace direct line members were wary because Seol Iri’s talent was too outstanding and kicked her out.

Or they thought her talent was just barely mediocre enough to learn the Ice White Divine Palm, so keeping her as part of the direct line would just waste resources.

Seol Ganom said that, but Qing immediately drew a conclusion upon hearing it.

Looking at how she acts, one vote for kicking her out for being useless.

“Didn’t you say direct line members live like royalty? Didn’t you say earlier she was incorporated into the direct line, mentioning something about Bing Jeong?”

“Well, think about it yourself. Who would acknowledge and follow a dirty, lowly beggar girl of unknown origin suddenly becoming royalty overnight just because she has some talent?”

“True. That’s a good point.”

Qing doesn’t think of herself as a princess.

Because didn’t the dead princess already die long ago, leaving only her body behind?

Apologies to the Empress, but after just snatching the daughter’s body, how could a person pretend to be the daughter?

“But why did she insist on coming to find Seol Ganom?”

“She said she wanted to ask to live together if she saw I was living well. So take good care of Guryeong. She was already following you well.”

“I’m already taking good care of her, you know? I can’t take any better care of her than I am now.”

“I’m sure. She was following you around all day. Still, watch her a bit more closely. Especially if her behavior seems suspicious, take her to a doctor. Northern Sea people don’t show when they’re in pain.”

“Why?”

“You’d know if you went to the Northern Sea. It’s hard enough to take care of yourself in that harsh land.”

In that blizzard-ridden frigid land, caring for someone sick is like asking to die together.

So they just abandon those who fall behind.

You can’t expect help if you’re sick, so you have to grit your teeth and catch up.

So everyone absolutely never shows when they’re in pain.

Especially for mixed breeds, if they’re sick they’re useless.

If they show they’re in pain, their condition is already serious enough to be considered dead, so they just take all their belongings and abandon them, considering them already dead.

“So they try not to show they’re in pain even if they’re dying.”

“Huh? But she showed it to me.”

At this, Seol Ganom showed a very soft smile for some reason, as if he found it admirable.

“That could be the case too. Anyway, it’s late, so you should head back now. Or will you stay the night? By the way, I have a habit of sleeping naked.”

“You sleep with clothes on. You must have slept with them on since you appeared with even your top soaked.”

Qing snorted and replied.

“Hmm. Then I was thinking of sleeping naked just for today, want to sleep together?”

“I told you to just give up when flirting doesn’t work. Why do you do it twice so crudely?”

“You should try anything twice. Once doesn’t have any affection, does it?”

“Affection my ass.”

After butchering bandits and working hard on flood recovery, her righteous karma exceeded 4000 points.

Originally she was going to learn the Tai Chi Wisdom Sword through exchanging righteous karma, but this body has already reached the Transcendent Realm and evolved into a Transcendent Qing.

So it seems there’s no need to learn the Tai Chi Wisdom Sword now.

Qing searched for the Ice White Divine Art in the martial arts window, and a purple-bordered inner force cultivation technique firmly took its place.

If Seol Iri is incomplete without this, would she become complete if I learn it and teach her?

Originally Seol Iri was learning the Cold Resistance Arts and Tai Yin Jade Maiden Divine Art, but after scattering the Tai Yin Jade Maiden Divine Art, in Seol Ganom’s words she’s just barely holding on with one pathetic inner force cultivation technique.

Once scattered, studies can’t be rebuilt.

The relevant true qi is no longer accepted by the dantian, so it naturally scatters.

Of course, there are ways even without Qing learning the Ice White Divine Art and teaching her.

There’s the Heavenly Ice Sura Demonic Arts, right?

Though its side effects are quite severe.

But she can’t transmit the Blissful Maiden Arts together, as it’s a Daoist cultivation that purifies and transforms various energies, especially demonic arts.

Originally the two can’t coexist, only Qing can learn both.

After reaching the Transcendent Realm, she realizes it’s more valuable to learn one inner force cultivation technique that becomes blood, flesh and inner force, rather than learning various sword techniques haphazardly.

A purple inner force cultivation technique is worth learning even if not for Seol Iri’s sake.

Or should I learn the Ice White Divine Art and then offer to trade it for the Ice White Divine Palm?

That was purple too.

I should try asking Iri about it later.

First I’ll ask Master.

Since Seol Ganom said he’d investigate, Qing has nothing else to do.

But it doesn’t seem right to just go play while leaving work to someone else.

So the idea that came up was scouting the enemy camp.

It sounds grand to call it scouting the enemy camp.

She’s just going around restaurants and teahouses that are Jangheung Trading Company’s business establishments, eating and drinking.

Still, it’s the enemy camp, and if there’s someone whose evil karma stands out, wouldn’t that person be the culprit?

Like that, one day. Two days. Three days.

During that time, rumors spread throughout Xi’an that two peerless beauties were going around together.

It truly became the talk of Chang’an circulating in Xi’an, and incidentally the talk of Chang’an circulating in Chang’an too.

It became the literal and figurative talk of Chang’an.

So in this hot weather, men were unusually out walking the streets.

“Hmm. I feel like I’ve seen that outfit a few times.”

When women chase after the world’s most handsome man, they blatantly stand and form walls.

But men are different, they keep passing by the same road several times and glancing, or sitting in the same teahouse endlessly enjoying tea while glancing.

When Qing was in Nakryeong, rumors hadn’t spread much yet, but a month and a half including flood recovery time is enough for news to reach Xi’an.

The Heavenly Flower Sword has appeared!

Some say she’s the world’s most beautiful woman, let’s go see if it’s true! And

Three heads and a thin waist, they say, it’s an important matter to check if she really has three heads.

In that sense, Qing didn’t disappoint men’s expectations.

But even so, while they looked and enjoyed, no severe flirtation came, because an ultra-master who reached the Transcendent Realm at a young age is quite intimidating.

No matter how pretty your wife is, a husband who gets beaten is off limits.

Still, minor flirtations do come.

“This is from the young hero over there.”

“Wow. What’s this?”

Qing lifted the wine bottle and responded with a smile in her eyes.

At this, he awkwardly half-rose from his seat, looking hesitant, so Qing waved her hand slightly to indicate refusal.

Anyway, thanks to this, the only money Qing spent during three days of scouting the enemy camp was for buying snacks at street stalls.

This makes it sound like she’s a wicked enchantress mooching snacks, meals, tea and alcohol from men based on her looks.

But in reality, she’s providing the rare sight of a peerless beauty’s unlimited meals.

Rather, she’s providing a more rewarding spectacle than street performers, so you could say she’s paying sufficient compensation for what she received.

Like that, on the fourth day.

Finally, Seol Ganom said:

“I found one guy. Do you want to go directly? Or I can send people to catch him.”